It's Game Day out in Los Angeles and I cannot wait to make the sojourn from downtown to Inglewood to see the state of the art SoFi Stadium and the Los Angeles Rams. Having done a game preview here and a Know Your Foe here.
I figure there are a few connections and nuggets to follow in tonight's game. It's sort of a Did You Know as my Daily Brew this week.
Did you know…the Texans have two players who spent the 2021 season playing home games at SoFi Stadium? Former Ram Ogbo Okoronkwo and former Charger Scott Quessenberry signed with the Texans in 2022 after spending their entire four year careers with those respective LA teams.
Did you know…the Texans have one player returning to his hometown (and college hometown) - Rasheem Green and three returning to their college hometowns - Kaimi Fairbairn, Fabian Moreau and Quessenberry? Green played in high school at local HS J Serra in Gardena, CA and then at USC. Fairbairn, as we've mentioned often, is from Hawaii, but attended UCLA as did Florida native Moreau and San Diego native Quessenberry.
Did you know…this is the fourth time since the Rams and the Chargers returned to LA that the Texans have played in LA? 2017 - regular season game against the Rams, 2018 - Preseason game against the Rams, 2019 - regular season game against the Chargers and this preseason game.
Did you know…this is the first time, though, that the Texans will face the Rams and Chargers in the same calendar year? Rams tonight in preseason and the Chargers in the regular season at NRG Stadium.
Did you know…DB Jalen Pitre and Grayland Arnold were secondary mates with Rams rookie DB Jairon McVea in 2019 at Baylor? Last week against the Saints, Pitre and Arnold met up with Abram Smith who was a RB at Baylor in 2021, but a LB in 2020…and a RB in 2019.
Did you know…that's not the only college secondary that'll feature former teammates? Rams 2nd year DB Robert Rochell and Texans DB Tremon Smith were teammates at Central Arkansas in 2017. Taking it a step further, I actually called UCA's game against HBU when the two teammates played in Houston. One other side note, 49ers safety George Odum was also in that secondary in 2017. My goodness.
Did you know…there is one Brown University graduate joining me in SoFi Stadium on Friday night - DL Michael Hoecht, who we should see plenty of in this game.
Did you know…the Texans may face the same player for the second consecutive week? Rams DL T.J. Carter was a New Orleans Saint last Saturday night in the game against the Texans. The NFL now requires teams to cut from 90 to 85 after the first preseason game. As a result, the Saints waived Carter who was subsequently claimed by the Los Angeles Rams. Now, there's no telling if Carter will get on the field with just five days of work, essentially for this game.
Did you know…he's not the only T.J. Carter on the Rams squad? The Rams signed TCU S T.J. Carter as an undrafted rookie last April. So, two T.J. Carters on the same team, which rivals the Jets with two Michael Carters on the same team.
Okay, that's enough for the Did You Know Daily Brew. See ya tonight, everyone!!